Railway-signal



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

M. WUERPEL. RAILWAY SIGNAL.

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(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2. M. WUERPEL. RAILWAY SIGNAL Patented July15, 1890. F11 m.

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U ITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MORRIS IVUERPEL, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

RAILWAY-SIG NAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 432,469, dated July 15,1890.

Application filed April 30, 1838- Serial No, 272,354. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MORRIS IVUERPEL, of the city of St. Louis, in theState of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inRailway-Signals, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification.

This is a device by which a rotary signal may be turned at any time toindicate the position of a switch, the signal being arranged toautomatically return to a normal position.

Figure I is an elevation of the apparatus. Fig. 11 is an enlargedhorizontal section at 11 II, Fig. I. Fig. III is an end view of thevalve case or cylinder, the valve-rod being shown in section. Fig. IV isa longitudinal section at IV IV, Fig. III.

. At 1 are shown the fixed rails, and at 2 the movable rails, of aswitch.

3 is the operating-rod connected tol'he moving switch-rails. The switchmay be moved by hand or by machinery, as shown, or by any suitablemeans, the means of moving the switch being outside my presentinvention. The rod 3 is attached to a slide-block 4,Which has aprojection 5 bored through for the passage of a rod 6, which is parallelwith the rod 3. The projection 5 works 011 the rod 6 and imparts to therod endwise movement by means of jam-nuts 7 and 8, that screw upon therod and against which the projection impinges as it is moved backwardand forward by the rod 3. The movement of the rod 6 is shown to be muchless than that of the rod 3, the projection 5 having lost motion on thelatter between the nuts 7 and 8.

At 9 is shown a device for working the block 4; but as this forms thesubject-matter of my patent No. 398,364, dated February 19, 1889, nodescription of the same will be here given. The rod 6 is part of orattached to the stem or rod 10 of a valve 11, that works as a piston inthe cylinder 12] The waist of the valve is of smaller diameter than theheads or ends 13, so that there is an annular space thrown intocommunication with a reservoir 17, containing water, air, or otherfluid. There the contents of the reservoir is liquid, it maybe placed atsuch an elevation as to produce the required pressure in the pipe 16 andannular chamber 14, or the reservoir may be closed and the pressure beproduced by forcing air or other gaseous matter thereinto, or by forcingliquid into it when it contains, practically, compressible fluid, as airor other gases. The communication between the pipe 16 and reservoir maybe opened and closed by a three-way cock 18 or any other suitable means,Which may be at a considerable distance from the cylinder 12. The pipe16 communicates with the chamber 14 by a port 19. At 20 are portsleading from the interior of the cylinder to eduction-pipes 21 and Thesepipes extend, respectively, to the inner ends of cylinders 23 and 24, inwhich work plungers .25 and 26. These plungers work in cup or otherpacking in the heads 27 of the cylinders. To each plunger is attached acog-rack 28, having an extension 29, working endwise in a guide 30.

31 are abutmen ts, against which the ends of the extensions 29 impingeas the racks reach their extreme outward position.

32 is a cog segment or wheel, which is keyed to the shaft 33 of therotatory signal 34. Each of the racks has its teeth cut away at 35, sothat the segment or wheel 32 may be turned by either of the racks, whilethe other rack remains at rest.

No novelty is herein claimed for the pipes 21 22, cylinders 23 24,plungers 25 26, racks 28, or the signal with the cog-segment 32 on itsshaft, these features being shown in my Letters Patent numbered 330,859,issued to me November 17, 1885. This patent has also the same means forthe restoration of the signal to a normal position after the pressurehas been removed in whole or in part from the fluid Within the activeplunger. This means of returning the signal to its normal position is asfollowsi To each of the rack (or plunger) rods is hinged a link 36,whose other end is connected to the arm 37 of a bell-crank lever 38. Thehorizontal arm of the bell-crank lever carries a weight 39, which actsto push the plunger back into the cylinder, and thus restore it and thesignal to normal position,

say, of danger. The pressure is removed from the inner end of theplunger by turning the cock 18, so as to close communication be tweenthe reservoir and the pi pc 16 and open the pipe for the escape of itscontents. In order to allow the movement of the valve 11 in the cylinder12, ports at the ends of the cylinder are provided, so as to allow theescape of the contents of the cylinder-chambers 12 from before theadvancing end of the valve or the entrance of the fluid from the pipe 21or 22, as the case may be.

Inasmuch as the fluid used is generally liquidsuch as water, oil, orglycerineit is de sirable that the exhaust-fluid should pass back intothe supply-tank from which the pressure-reservoir 17 is charged, for inthe event water is used the escaping water would in winter, ifdischarged in the vicinity of the apparatus, cause the latter to becomecoated with ice and thereby retard it in its operation, besides beingobj ectionable for other obvious reasons, and in case oil or glycerinebe employed it is obvious that too great an expense would be entailed bypermitting it to waste at every operation of the device; hence I preferto convey the exhaustdiquid away from the cylinder 12 and preserve it,so that itmay circulate back and forth and be utilized for an indefinitenumber of operations; or it may at least, if not worth preserving, bedischarged at the cook 18, so that it can run off into the guttor orsewer, where it will not interfere with the operation of the apparatus.

The operation of the device is as follows: The signal is supposed to beat its normal position of danger, and if it be desired to indicate bymeans of the signal the actual position of the switch, communication isopened between the pressure-reservoir and the pressure-pipe 1.6. If theswitch be in the position shown in Fig. 1, the fluidwill pass from thechamber 14 through the conducting-pipe 21 to the cylinder 23, and thesignal will be turned in the direction of'the arrow, and will remain inthis position as long as the pipe 16 is in communication with thereservoir. \Vhen this communication is closed and the fluid allowed toexhaust from the pipe 16, the weight 39 forces the plunger 25 into thecylinder and at the same time turns the signal back to its normalposition. If the switch be in the opposite position, the pipe 22 will bein communication with the annular chamber 14, and the signal will beturned in an opposite direction, when communication is opened betweenthe reservoir and the pipe 16.

I claim-- 1. The combination of the cylinder having the valve-ports 192O 20 and the ports -tO 40 connected to the ports 20 20, respectively,and leading from the ends of the cylinder, and a valve having acontracted waist fitting in said cylinder, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

2. The combination of the cylinder 12, the valve 11, constructedsubstantially as set forth and connected by its stem to the moving railsof a railway-switch, a pressure-pipe 10 in communication with thechamber 14, conducting-pipes 21 and 22, arranged communicating with theinterior of the cylinder, on each side of the pressure-pipe, cylinders23 24 in communication, respectively, with the conducting-pipes 21 22,plungers 25 and 26 within the cylinders, and cog-racks on the plungersengaging a cog-sector wheel on the signal-shaft, substantially as setforth.

The combination of a reservoir containing fluid, a pressurc-pi 'ic 16,leading from the reservoir and containing the fluid under pressure, acock or valve in the pressure-pipe 16 for the purpose set forth, twoconductingpipes 21 22, leading to cylinders, plungers working in saidcylinders and carrying cogracks engaging a cog sector or wheel onv thesignal-sl1aft,a valve constructed to throw the pressure-pipe incommunication with either of the conducting-pipes, and means,substantially as described, to force the plungers back into thecylinders, for the purposeset forth.

4. The combination of the moving switchrails 2, valve 11, connected tothese rails 2, a pipe lb, containing fluid under pressure,conducting-pipe 21 22, cylinders 23 24-, containing plungers carryingcog-racks 28, a cog wheel or sector on a signal-shaft engaged by thecogracks, a cook or valve 18 in the pipe 10, and a fluid-reservoir17,alleonstructed and arranged to operate, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the cylinders 23 21 and the fluid-pressurepipe, of the cylinder 12, having port- 19 connected with said pipe, theports 20 20, connected with the cylinders 23 24, respectively, and theports 40 10, connected to ports 20 20, respectively, and leading fromthe ends of the cylinder 12, a valve having a contracted waist fitted incylinder 2, and an exhaust-cock in said pressure-pipe, substantially asset forth.

' MORRIS \V U ERIEL.

In presence of- SAML. KNIGHT, Jos. WAHLE.

